[JURIST] KGW.com in Portland, OR, is reporting that the US Supreme Court [official website] has agreed to hear a Bush administration challenge to Oregon's Death with Dignity Act [text], which allows assisted suicide. The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals previously upheld the law [JURIST report; opinion, PDF] against a federal challenge and later refused to rehear [JURIST report] the case. The Court had been anticipated [AP report] to announce its decision today on whether to hear the case.

11 AM ET - Also today, the Court refused to hear a constitutional challenge to an Alabama law barring the sale of sex toys. Those challenging the law claimed that it raised important issues on the scope of a constitutional right to privacy. Reuters has more.

11:20 AM ET - The full order list [text, PDF] is now available. In the orders, the Court also agreed to hear a dispute on whether workers should be compensated [AP report] for the time it takes them to put on protective clothing. The Court rejected an appeal by Norma McGarvey, who was Jane Roe in the Court's historic 1973 abortion ruling, that Roe v. Wade should be reconsidered [AP report]. The Court also refused to hear appeals stemming from a settlement in the wake of the Columbine High School shootings [AP report] and a National Park Service policy on access [AP report] to Utah's Rainbow Bridge.

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